Silent Hill: The Unmaker's Pit
by DarkAngelLillith
Summary: A team of Autobots is rescued after two years of their disappearance. They are not the mechs they used to be. Where were they? What happened to them while they were there? Warning: Character deaths


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Transformers and I do not own Silent Hill.

**A/N:** Done for the tfbunnyfarm contest. I used some monsters from the games (which I found at wikipedia cause I haven't played the game) and what little I remember from the movie.

**Warning:** My very first attempt at horror and gore and there are character deaths. Slash can be seen in the friendships/obsessions of some characters if you want to.

* * *

_**Silent Hill: The Unmaker's Pit**_

It had taken the engineer months of investigation to find out what had happened to their comrades. They vanished without a trace and they had all feared the worst. When Wheeljack had barged into his office saying that they might be alive, what little hope remained came back with force.

Wheeljack's theory had sound a little far fetched, but Optimus had only asked him if it was possible to get them back. Wheeljack had said it would take time. Optimus Prime didn't care how long it took. If there was any possibility that they were alive, he would take it...

This was not the reunion he had imagined.

They had wondered where they could be. They had theorized the endless scenarios that they could be living through. Somehow, the reality of it didn't sink in until they brought part of the missing group back. Optimus had a flitting thought that maybe it would've been better if they had died. Because wherever his soldiers had been sent to had changed them. And Optimus had the sinking feeling that the changes were not good.

Optimus, Prowl, Red Alert, Bumblebee and Ironhide now waited in the Conference Room for Ratchet to appear with a complete report. After having to force the recovered mechs into stasis, they all wanted an explanation.

Ratchet entered and slumped on his seat with Wheeljack following after him. The medic looked drained after having taken care of the rescued mechs for the last three shifts nonstop.

"Ratchet, maybe it's better if you…" Optimus began, ready to tell the ambulance to get a joor to recharge.

"I spent the last three days trying to figure out what was wrong with them," Ratchet began, voice strained and oddly haunted, "Physically, they're fine. Better than before they disappeared in some cases, but…"

"But?" Ironhide prompted when the medic's pause seemed to take too long.

"The damage is on their CPUs. I tried everything and it just didn't work," he finished, head hanging low in a rare display of defeat.

There was a deep silence as they processed what Ratchet just said. This wasn't the way they envisioned their friends' retrieval.

"What will happen to them?" Bumblebee asked nervously.

Ratchet's uncharacteristic silence was the only answer. Wheeljack took a look at the mechs around him before speaking.

"There's a very small chance that the damage repairs itself with time but…"

"The odds of that happening are almost nonexistent," Prowl finished for him and Wheeljack nodded. The Datsun's door wings sagged at the confirmation.

"If there is a chance, no matter how small, we will take it," Optimus spoke, "These mechs are more than just comrades. They are our friends, and I refuse to give up on them now that we got them back."

"What do we know of the place they were in?" Red Alert asked.

There were still three mechs missing. Every little piece of information could be used to help in the next rescue attempt. It could also help to understand what had damaged them in the first place.

"Not much," Ratchet admitted, "I haven't been able to get them out of stasis. Every time I try, they get violent."

"Wherever it was, it was bad enough to make them act like this," Bumblebee said, "We need to go there and rescue the other ones."

"We can't rush there with no knowledge of where we're going," Prowl's soft voice said, "As much I'd hate to say this, we have to think of the possibility that they could be dead."

"How could you say that?" Bumblebee cried in disbelief.

"What do you want him to think?" Red Alert said, voice grave, "That they left Bluestreak and Beachcomber to their fates? And then there's the little fact that Sideswipe came through the portal without his brother."

"We won't know until we ask them," Optimus said, "Until now, we we'll wait for Jazz, Sideswipe, Cliffjumper, Perceptor and Hound to online. Ratchet, if there are any security measures that you think are needed to keep them from hurting themselves or others, I expect you to tell Red Alert. For now, everyone is dismissed. Go get some rest."

************(Two years ago in a different dimension)************

Jazz was afraid of turning on his visor. The lack of HUD displaying his system's status seemed ominous. Most of his sensors were off and he was cycling air involuntarily.

"Oh, my head," cried a familiar voice nearby. It oddly sounded like Hound, but it lacked something.

Jazz still refused to turn on his visor. Maybe if he ignored it, it would disappear. Because if it didn't then…

"What the slag?" the Hound-like voice cried, making Jazz turn on his visor in alarm only to stare at the blonde human, dressed in green clothes. A human who was almost the same size as he. Jazz blinked, only to freeze and blink again.

The blonde human was watching him, something like fear filling his eyes, as Jazz brought a hand to his face and gasped. It couldn't be… Primus don't let it be true.

The saboteur hesitated before looking down at his body and letting out a horrified scream. He was human. Dear Holy Matrix, he was human… His scream brought the green clad man out of his own shock.

"Jazz?" he asked, the confusion and fear clear in his voice.

"Hound? That you?" he cried, trying to stand up and go to the green clad man, only to fall down on his face. The saboteur cried out in surprise, the pain forgotten for the moment as he decided to crawl towards the other humanized mech.

"Jazz! What exactly happened?" Hound asked.

"I dunno. One moment the humans are showing off their latest invention and then we're like this," Jazz replied as he reached the other. He turned his head around, trying to not let the size difference disturb him. Everything looked so different from down here.

There wasn't much to see, but it was enough to tell the saboteur they weren't in Oregon any longer. The place was foggy, but the saboteur was able to see six other men sprawled on the street. Something in his new human chest constricted painfully as he recounted. One dressed in blue and grey with a little red thrown in; Bluestreak's colors. One dressed in blue and white, Beachcomber's paintjob. One dressed in red appeared to be waking up, and with two other red mechs on his team, Jazz made a guess and thought that was Perceptor. There were two identical men, one dressed in yellow and black and one dressed in black and red, his logic and human knowledge told him they must be Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. And a smaller guy also dressed in red, who was sitting, staring at his hands. The only minibot with them had been Cliffjumper.

Frag… If he was not mistaken, they were all here. That only meant there was no way to contact the Ark for help.

"Jazz," Hound's voice made him turn to look at him, "Where the slag are we?"

It was then the saboteur realized he hadn't assessed his surroundings. Being human must be affecting his skills.

The fog made things hard to see. It wasn't so difficult up close, but there was a certain point that it was impossible to see. There was something white falling down on them, like snow. Only that snow was supposed to be cold and not smell of fire.

_'Ashes?'_

Jazz blinked, eyes squinting as he tried to make sense of the human writing on the sign of a building in front of them. It was hard to read from the fog and Jazz slowly tried to stand up, Hound steadying him. He concentrated on walking, and took two tentative steps forward before getting more confident in his walk.

The building looked abandoned, just like the buildings near it.

"Silent Hill Savings Bank," Jazz read slowly. For once thankful that Prowl and Red Alert saw it fit to have them download the human's writing system and phonetic structures instead of relaying on translator programs.

"Jazz?" the smaller red dressed man asked in disbelief.

"Cliffjumper?" the man nodded and Jazz blinked curiously at the red colored hair on top of his friend's head, "Okay, do me a favor and help Hound wake the others. We need to get moving if we want to find a way to call the others for help."

"Hound?"

Jazz turned and pointed at the blonde guy in question, who waved back cheerfully.

"That's Hound."

"So, where are we?" Hound asked again, as he tried getting up and walking with better results than Jazz's first time.

"Some place called Silent Hill," Jazz said as he went to help Perceptor. Hound was helping the man with Beachcomber's colors. Cliffjumper was heading towards the identical pair. Poor Bluestreak was going to be last.

Jazz was already thinking of how to get out of the creepy abandoned place and get help. The sooner Wheeljack could start figuring a way to turn them back into mechs the better.

************(Present day: The Ark)************

_/Guys! Help me!/_ First Aid's urgent words and the fear that was sent through the gestalt bond had all of the Protectobots rushing out of the rec room to the medbay.

_/Aid! Talk to us. What happened?/_ Hot Spot asked.

Pain shot through the bond and the four mechs activated their weapons, ready to tear the one that had dared hurt one of their own. All of them wondering how a Decepticon could have gotten inside.

The four mechs running through the Ark, weapons online caught the attention of the mechs they passed by. Millennia of fighting telling them this wasn't some joke and hurrying after them.

They were not prepared for the sight that greeted them. First Aid was under attack. But it wasn't a Decepticon attack. Jazz, had a plasma gun trained on First Aid, who was on the floor fighting to remain online after being shot repeatedly.

"Jazz! What in the name of Primus did you do?"

"Aid!"

Jazz's gun didn't waver as he prepared to shoot one more time. The others watched in horror, unable to reconcile the scene to the officer they knew. The Protectobots sprang into action. They were too close to firing without injuring the others, but they could neutralize him.

Even with the four of them, Jazz fought with everything he had. He was aiming to kill and only the fact that he seemed to be moving somewhat awkwardly was the only reason no one else got injured.

"You don't understand! You have to kill him," the saboteur cried out, struggling to get out of the gestalt's grip, "He'll cut us up and string our entrails. That's no doctor. Let me go!"

Red Alert pushed his way into the medbay and assessed the situation. First Aid was gravely injured and close to enter stasis lock. Jazz had suffered minor injuries from his scuffle with the Protectobots, but was still doing his best to get out and finish what he started. He needed to get rid of the threat before he could start working on First Aid.

The Lamborghini commed Ratchet as he strode forward. Jazz struggled harder to get away and Red Alert could see the beginning sequence of the saboteur's light and sound show. The Porsche slumped down in stasis as Red Alert moved faster than anyone ever thought he could.

The Protectobots hesitated before letting go of the black and white. Groove dropped Jazz on one of the berths before turning to see Blades helping Red Alert gently carry First Aid to another berth.

The Lamborghini had managed to stabilize the ambulance, when Ratchet came in. The CMO had been recharging as it had been only a few human hours since his report with Prime. One look at the scene had him rushing to help Red Alert in his repairs.

"What happened?"

"Jazz," Red Alert answered. Ignoring how the old medic's hands trembled slightly as he started repairs.

"Impossible. He was in stasis," Ratchet exclaimed.

He didn't had the luxury to stop what he was doing, but Red Alert knew the medic would be staring at him in shock if he could.

"Then I suggest we strap them to the berths in case they somehow find a way to reboot themselves again. It could be something only Jazz as a saboteur and spy can do, but I don't want to take anymore chances," Red Alert answered as he continued fixing the gestalt mech.

Ratchet nodded and threw a glance at Ironhide who, after a slight hesitance on his part, hurried to do as Red Alert suggested and started binding Jazz before moving to the others.

"He said anything?" Ratchet asked.

"Nothing that would make sense," the security mech replied, "He seemed convinced that he needed to deactivate First Aid before First Aid could deactivate us."

"That's ridiculous! Aid wouldn't hurt anyone," Streetwise commented.

"He doesn't think so," Red Alert told him, "It confirms that wherever they were, it was hostile in nature."

************(Silent Hill)************

Once they had all gotten past the shock and their first steps, Jazz was sure everything would get better. Being human couldn't be so bad. Besides, he always wanted to see what a building looked like inside. Maybe try out a few new clothes, to see what that felt like. Make a few memories to share when he got back.

The major downside was the place they seemed to be stuck in. Silent Hill was dead. There was no people at all. The fog and falling ashes were both disturbing and a nuisance. Some buildings were falling down from neglect. And what really made him nervous was that, beside their chattering and movements, the town was true to its name… Silent.

"Do you think we could make a stop to one of those parks Spike talks about? He sounds like he has fun when he goes into those rollercoasters. I want to try. Do you think the twins will come with me? Isn't it strange how they actually look alike now? They don't look like this as mechs, but maybe that's a human thing," Bluestreak chattered to an amused looking Beachcomber.

Behind him, Sideswipe was trying to convince Sunstreaker to give him a piggy back ride.

"Come on! I know you want to. It's not like it would scratch your nonexistent paint, dear brother of mine."

And a little behind them, Hound and Cliffjumper were tinkering with an old radio Cliffjumper had found with Perceptor trying to tell them how to fix it. Jazz was beginning to think they could make it to the base when the alarm started blaring throughout the town.

He recognized it as an air raid alarm and looked around trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. The others doing the same as him. Eight pairs of eyes widening as the deserted town seemed to melt down into a twisted version of itself.

Building walls bled out into the floor, until only the rusted skeletal remains were all that was standing of them. The road itself seemed to break down and fall into an abyss, revealing an iron catwalk and a fiery pit at the bottom. They couldn't suppress a cry of alarm.

"What's happening?"

"This isn't normal."

"What in the name of…" Beachcomber said and the remaining seven turned to look at him.

He was staring at a gorilla like creature. It's appearance made Jazz's new stomach revolt in disgust. It was like looking at a burned down gorilla and it was making its way towards them. Behind him, the beat up radio in Hound's hands came to life in a hiss of static.

The thing screeched and then it wasn't alone. There were flying creatures. Their wings reminded them of Swoop's, but it had the body of a human. But it was their faces covered with worms that made them take a step back.

"What… What are those?" Bluestreak asked and Jazz hoped any of the nature bots could answer that.

He wasn't surprised when Beachcomber replied, "I… I have no idea. Hound?"

"Me either. But maybe we shouldn't stay here."

The creatures were getting closer, the burned gorilla suddenly getting more company from it's species. The flying flesh creatures swooped down between the gorilla creatures and screeched. That screech froze the blood from their veins. And as the creatures started running towards them, they all turned and fled.

************(Present day: The Ark)************

"Are you sure there is no other way?" Optimus asked Prowl as they made his way to the Security Room and the Datsun shook his head.

The truck noticed Prowl's door wings were positioned lower than normal and his optics glowed dimmer. He had witnessed his second in command accept impossible odds in order to get Jazz back. The two had been friends since they were sparklings and now…

He put his hand on the Datsun's shoulder and Prowl let out a long sigh, "He'll be okay. Have faith."

"He and the rest have been placed in a secured room. Red Alert himself made sure there was no way to escape. Not even a master saboteur will get out of there," there was no emotion coming out of his vocalizer, "Ratchet is hoping that they aren't violent to each other. If they are… I am afraid there aren't enough resources to keep them all separate."

Prime and Prowl entered the Security Room. They found Red Alert watching the cameras intently. They both blinked before approaching to see what was so interesting.

They were online and, true to Ratchet's theory, they weren't killing each other. Instead, Sideswipe seemed to be searching for something in the room with Cliffjumper trying to calm down the red twin. Hound was activating and deactivating his weapons with something close to glee in his optics. Jazz was quietly inspecting the room and the energon cubes they left inside. And Perceptor… He was just staring at nothing.

"Is there sound?" Prowl asked.

Red Alert threw him an insulted glare as he pressed a button.

"Who do you think you're talking to? Of course there's sound!"

Sideswipe's voice sounded childlike to their audios and had a singsong quality to it, "Sunny? Sunny? Where are you? You aren't supposed to leave me. You know that!"

Cliffjumper's voice came from the speakers, oddly comforting. "Don't worry, Sides, he should be nearby. He'll come back soon."

"But he can't leave! I told him not to go." the Sideswipe on the screen declared and Cliffjumper took the larger mech's hands in his.

"I promise I'll find Sunny for you and bring him back in one piece."

"Promise?"

"Promise," Cliffjumper replied while dragging Sideswipe to Jazz's location, "Now come with me. Jazz says the food is good this time."

Sideswipe made a face, but did as told, only pausing to scream at Hound, "Come on, Hound. Drop the weapons, it's time to eat."

The Jeep blinked and moved to where Jazz was standing, weapons still online, "I'm going, but I ain't going to put anything away."

The three of them joined Jazz as the saboteur handed a cube to Perceptor, who only looked down at the pink liquid and started drinking without uttering a word.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Hound said, pointing at the cubes.

Jazz nodded, "At the moment this is all we have. We need to eat before the alarm sounds again."

"It looks like home," Sideswipe said before drinking his cube.

Hound's angry voice came through the speakers this time, "It isn't! This is just another game for this town."

Cliffjumper stood between the red twin and the tracker, "Don't talk like that to him! It looks real this time. Maybe…"

"Maybe you should admit we're trapped here and this isn't real," snarled Hound, "_Maybe_ you should make Sideswipe admit that Sunstreaker is dead. And _maybe_ you should admit that he died because of _you_."

Sideswipe's broken scream tore through the sparks of the mechs watching. Their worst fears had been confirmed. Sunstreaker was dead.

Cliffjumper turned, frantically trying to calm the Lamborghini, who clutched the minibot's smaller frame like it was a lifeline.

Hound laughed at them, optics glowing in twisted merriment, until Jazz's left hook erased it from his face.

"I've told you before to leave them alone, Hound," the saboteur hissed.

Hound glared, "Why should I? They're gonna get us killed. The only thing that matters is to stay alive, Jazz."

Prime left after that, followed by Prowl. He couldn't hear anymore. He couldn't see anymore. Red Alert stayed; his glitch screaming at him to remain and not leave cameras unguarded, but wishing he could just for once be able to let someone else watch the twisted mockery left of his friends.

************(Silent Hill)************

Three days. Their first day was wasted on learning how being human worked along with running and surviving. In their second day, they suffered a case of food poisoning and they encountered more creatures. Jazz had finally realized that the radio played static whenever the creatures were near and Perceptor had found a map of the city while looking around what used to be a gas station. Now on day three they were finally getting out of this cursed town.

They were the longest three days of his life.

Three days of trial and error on their new lives as humans. Three days of running until their chests and lungs burned and their legs buckled under their weight. Three days of hiding and crawling around dark places and eating whatever they could find, hoping that this time they could keep it down. Three days of praying to any deity that could hear them for at least some sort of explanation. In Bluestreak's mind, Silent Hill was worst than the smelter pits.

The dead town kept reminding him of his own destroyed city. The Autobots may have rescued him, but he still could remember the silence that came after the Decepticons left. Silent Hill's deserted streets covered in the ever falling ashes, reminded him of the first time he was left alone among the dead and dying. Watching as the optics of his creators dimmed before his eyes after getting trapped under their own home. Talking to fill the silence that overwhelmed him and threatened to consume him. The silence that had followed him until it finally caught up to him in a town called Silent Hill.

The other side of Silent Hill. The side that appeared when the alarm filled the air. The side that was fire and blood and metal. That part brought to his mind what happened while the Decepticons attacked. Mechs, femmes and sparklings destroyed right in front of his eyes. He was reminded of his family running through the streets towards the safety of their home. Screams and smoke and death. Wherever he looked there were mangled corpses with rotting worm infested flesh and dried blood. It was on the walls, in the food, on the streets, hanging from the fences…

But there was something else. Something darker. It tainted them with the ashes. It hunted them with its monsters. It played with them making them hear things when there was nothing around. Laughter… Screaming… Chanting… Whispers… Making them see things from the corner of their eyes. Shadows moving… Children running…

Bluestreak was trying hard to keep going. The first times the changes happened, he'd babbled nonstop. It took the twins threatening him to make him stop. The babble had dwindled on its own, until he finally stopped talking. Perceptor had tried to engage him in conversation, but Bluestreak had ignored him and Perceptor had gone to help Jazz and Cliffjumper. Beachcomber and Hound were still trying hard to get him to talk, but…

What was the point?

He knew everyone's hopes were riding on getting out of the town. Once they were away, something had to make sense. Bluestreak knew that there was not much more he could take. He needed to get as far away from Silent Hill as possible. He needed to get away from the memories it brought.

"I see it! That's the welcome sign!" Hound said. A laugh escaping the still green clad man. The twins and Cliffjumper cheering as they ran towards it… Only to stop.

Why would they stop?

Bluestreak couldn't hear anything except the beating of his human heart as he dragged his feet forward. A mournful wail escaping his throat as he sank to his knees. Scrapped hands clawing the literal edge of town.

"No… Please, Primus… no… It can't be…" he said between sobs as he stared in front of him at the chasm that separated the town from the rest of the world.

There was someone holding him. It had blue short hair so it had to be Beachcomber. Hound was beside him, his lips were moving but Bluestreak couldn't hear what he was saying… The air raid alarm drowned everything.

_'Nonononono! Not anymore. No more death. No more Decepticons killing. No more whispers. No more fire. No more blue optics dimming. No more silence. No more blood. No more corpses. No more energon flowing.'_

And as if Primus himself had talked to him, Bluestreak knew what needed to be done. He let Beachcomber and Perceptor help him up. Jazz was screaming something, but it didn't matter anymore. The gray haired youth turned around, haunted gray eyes watching the town melt away into a nightmare. His hand going to the only firearm they had found so far.

"Blue! No!"

Someone jumped to stop him. Perceptor had been the closest, but Bluestreak was the master gunner. He shot himself in the head, in front of their wide, horrified eyes. Just a quick draw, pulling the trigger as the barrel touched his temple. It hadn't hurt as much as he thought it would. His body felt weak and he let himself go backwards… into the now burning chasm.

"Sorry for bleeding on you, Perce…" he spoke as the gray eyes rolled back and he fell. Already dead to the screams of his comrades.

************(Present day: the Ark)************

"I know I shouldn't be doing this, but…" Cliffjumper said, staring into the camera, "Have you found a doll. It has black hair and it's dressed in yellow."

Red Alert was startled out of his watch by the minibot. Sideswipe was muttering things and rocking in a corner. The others appeared to be recharging, but Red Alert could see the signs that said they were just on standby. Ready to get up at any given time. As if waiting for something to happen. Perceptor was still staring at nothing. His hands twitching ever so slightly. Cliffjumper hesitated, muttering something to himself before looking back at the camera.

"I promised I would get it for him and I will. Just… If you're real…"

Cliffjumper shook his head, cursing for acting so foolish, before going back to Sideswipe's side to try and coax him into sleeping.

Red Alert heard someone enter the room. Blaster was supposed to take over his duties and the Lamborghini was too worn out to let his glitch convince him to pull a triple shifter. It was hard to watch them and he was so tired.

The cassette holder was for once quiet. His optics were trained on the cameras and Red Alert was sure he could guess which one had caught Blaster's attention. He slipped away before Blaster said anything to him. He needed to do one more thing before heading to recharge.

It had only taken him a few breems to find out there had been a doll. Hoist and Grapple had picked it up when they cleaned the base. They usually held on such objects for a few days before throwing them away. They had looked at him weird when he asked for it, but had given it to him with a few words.

Red Alert made his way through the Ark towards the holding room while studying the doll. It was a male doll. It's black hair was shiny, it's skin color was faded. Almost as if someone had rubbed the color off of it. The doll was dressed in yellow. The color faded from what appeared to be constant washing. There were a few dark questionable stains, but it looked as if someone had gone through great lengths to keep it clean. It was the lack of eyes that got to him.

Hoist and Grapple had offered to fix that for him, but Red Alert refused. Cliffjumper said Sideswipe needed it and, as ridiculous as the thought still sounded in his processor, it had been joors since Hound's words and it broke his spark to watch the red twin's breakdown.

The security mech punched in the code to open the holding room and took a step inside. The door closing behind him. As he expected, they had all onlined as soon as he stood in the room. He shouldn't be here. He was going to get slagged. They all wanted to kill him.

As if sensing the security mech's thoughts, they all onlined his weapons at the same time. Even Perceptor and Sideswipe had their guns trained on him. With trembling hands he slowly presented the doll to them. It was similar to how humans acted around frightened animals and he could see their confusion and fear on their optics. Hound's weapons hummed with life and Red Alert prepared for the worst.

"Sunny?" that horrible childlike tone of Sideswipe's broke the silence.

"Don't move, Sides," Jazz barked at the red twin. Ready to strike and kill. Red Alert didn't want to imagine what could turn the saboteur into this mech.

"But that's…"

"It's one of her traps," Jazz said. Venom falling out of his vocalizer and Red wondered who was he talking about.

Cliffjumper made a hesitant move forward. Sideswipe whimpered, but his optics flickered between Cliffjumper and Jazz. Jazz curled his lip in disgust, something Red Alert had never thought possible before in a mech.

"Just drop it and leave," Cliffjumper said. Weapons still drawn.

Sideswipe giggled, "He's so tiny now. Are we home again?"

Jazz didn't say anything, but his weapons were put away. That seemed to throw the others off balance. All except Hound, who still had his weapons out.

The saboteur stood in front of Red Alert. The slightly musical undertones that marked the Porsche's voice could not be heard anymore, "Red Alert?"

The Lamborghini nodded, hands dropping the small doll on Jazz's hands. Cliffjumper rushing to get it and give it back to Sideswipe.

Jazz's visor dimmed before he took another step forward. Red Alert could feel the wavering of the Porsche's magnetic field. A trembling black hand touched Red Alert's chest plate. Jazz's vocalizer letting out what sounded like a human sob.

"This isn't real, is it?" he asked softly and Red Alert caught the hand that was still touching him. The black and white mech started, but didn't pull away.

"This is real, Jazz. Welcome home."

************(Silent Hill)************

Six days after Bluestreak killed himself. Six days after the twins, Jazz and Cliffjumper had dragged Perceptor, Hound and Beachcomber back into the town. They had taken shelter in different buildings until finally settling on Neely's Bar. The place was in pretty good shape for an abandoned building, had food storage and several eating establishments nearby. All of them perfect for scavenging for provisions. If they ventured a little farther away north they could get medical supplies on the Ridgeview Medical Clinic.

The clinic was one of the most dangerous places they had encountered and it was decided that they would only venture inside of it if there was no other way to get the medical supplies. They had entered it after a dog like creature had managed to bite Beachcomber and Perceptor declared the injury was getting infected.

The hospital had been a welcomed sight and Jazz had even entertained the idea of relocating there. Until the alarm ran again and they were introduced to the scalpel wielding nurses that swarmed Sunstreaker, who was holding unto their only flashlight. Their male counterparts, doctors with knives that were attracted to both sound and light, were even more dangerous. They had been lucky to get out of there. They might have been injured, but they got enough supplies to patch everyone up. Thank Primus for Perceptor and his thirst for knowledge! The black haired human had taken an interest in human medicine as a mech and that was now paying off.

Things were beginning to settle into a frightening routine too fast for their liking. They left during the day to scavenge and look for ways to get back home or an explanation to the madness that was Silent Hill. They ran and hid when the Other Silent Hill made its terrifying appearance. And they went back to the bar, secured it and huddled together, the weapons they had acquired during their scavenging held in their hands while they took turns in keeping watch during the night. When the nightmares that plagued them kept most of them awake no matter how hard they tried to sleep.

The radio was now one of the group's most prized possession. They brought as many as they could find for Perceptor to fix. Batteries became as important as edible food. It was mandatory for them to carry them around. Most of the creatures caused static on their radios and the ones that didn't were easily dispatched. Only the creatures Sideswipe had dubbed 'stalkers' seemed to be immune to any sort of attack. They were ghost-like creatures that followed them around or randomly appeared and disappeared. They hadn't harmed them physically and they couldn't hurt them.

Beachcomber had been the one to find the violin and gave it to Perceptor to fix. The black haired man had looked at the geologist oddly before delving into the task. Once it was fixed, he had tried to give it back only to have Beachcomber declare it was a gift. Perceptor had tried to make him understand that he didn't know how to play, but Beachcomber had just looked at him oddly.

"You don't need to know how to play. She will teach you her song."

Everyone had looked at Beachcomber then. Perceptor clutching the violin to his chest nervously.

"She? Who are you talking about?"

Beachcomber shrugged, "I still don't know her name, but I've seen her running around," he gave a pointed look to Perceptor, "She really wants to hear you play. That's why she told me to give you the violin."

Perceptor licked his lips nervously, "What is she like?"

"Like any other human kid, Percy," the blue haired man replied, almost in a daze, "That's all she is. A little kid with a bad past."

************(Present day: the Ark)************

Prowl entered the room slowly. Blaster had commed him that Red Alert had entered the room they were holding the others and he was dreading what he would find. He was not expecting to see Jazz touching Red Alert's chest plate nor Sideswipe crowing over a human sized doll, whom he called Sunny.

He must've made some sort of sound because they jumped, startled, and quickly had their weapons drawn again. Prowl's door wings twitched before sagging again.

"Jazz, it's okay," Red Alert's gently said, "It's just Prowl. You remember him, right?"

The Porsche looked as if he didn't knew whether to shoot or hug him. A broken, "Please not this again. I don't want to see him die again," had the tactician moving again. For every step Prowl took forward, Jazz gave one backwards.

"Prowl!" Sideswipe cried, rushing to hug the tactician, "Sunny says hi too," the red twin said after having released the shocked Datsun.

Prowl wondered if Sunstreaker was alive and talking through the twin's bond, when Sideswipe held the yellow dressed, doll in front of his optics.

"He's mad that he's so small now, but don't mind him. I think he's just cranky cause he didn't wanted to have bloodstains still on him when we got back," the warrior said and Prowl gazed at the doll.

"What happened to its eyes?" he asked, trying to come up with a logical explanation as to why Sideswipe would call the doll Sunstreaker.

"The eyes didn't match. We had blue eyes and Sunny's changed to brown when he got like this. He didn't want brown eyes so he asked me to take them out for him."

************(Silent Hill)************

Jazz wanted to scream. For four days straight Peceptor had done nothing but play that thrice cursed violin. They had suffered a sever blow four days ago. Sunstreaker had died after pushing Cliffjumper out of the way of the creature with the pyramid thing on its head.

The twins, Hound, Perceptor and Cliffjumper had been outside, scavenging, when the alarm rang. The monstrous, human figure had appeared right then. It walked slowly, it's body covered in blood and grime, dragging a very large sword and letting out cries and moans from inside the triangular shaped helmet.

There were other creatures that were busy running away from the pyramid headed creature and its giant sword. Once the creatures saw them out in the open, they had swarmed. They had ran away from them as fast as they could. The monster with the sword, moving slowly but surely towards them. Cleaving and tearing apart any creature that stood in front of him.

The small red haired man had twisted his ankle while running away from it. Cliffjumper had cried out in pain, but the others hadn't noticed. Well, none except one of them, clad in dirty stained green clothes. He only looked back at him before turning away.

Hound had left him to die. He could feel the darkness and evil that surrounded the sword wielding creature. He had looked up and seen up close its bloody apron made of sewn skin and the smell the rotten stench coming out of the pale, moaning creature. Cliffjumper had stared at the black pyramid thing on its head, as the creature slowly swung its sword. The small redhead had been so sure he was going to die.

Until Sunstreaker dragged him out of the way. The enraged creature tore the yellow dressed, black haired twin in half before the town went back to its normal abandoned look, taking the creature away along with it.

Sideswipe had tried to take both parts back to the bar for Perceptor to fix, but Sunstreaker's insides were all over the place and no amount of trying to put them back inside worked.

"Sideswipe, there's no use. He's dead."

"He can't be dead. He can't. We die together, remember?" Sideswipe said, desperation and something else in his voice, as he frantically tried to piece his brother back together, "Perceptor can fix it. He can. Then I'll kick his yellow dressed aft for pulling a stunt like this."

It hurt to watch him. The black haired twin covered in his brother's blood, getting more and more desperate as his efforts to put him back together kept failing. The sight made their stomachs churn. Both Hound and Beachcomber getting sick and vomiting on the street.

Perceptor just stared at the sight. Sideswipe's blue eyes searched for him, pleading him, "Fix him. We can get him back to the bar and you can patch him up there with no hurry. Please, you have to fix him."

"He is dead," the scientist had told the twin.

Sideswipe kneeled before him then. His hands, covered in his brother's blood gripped Perceptor's waist, "He's not dead. I'm begging you. Fix him. You can fix him. He's not dead."

It took both Cliffjumper and Jazz to get Sideswipe to let go of Perceptor. The scientist was, once again, covered in his comrade's blood. No one said anything when he broke the water conservation rule after getting back to the bar.

He had picked up the violin that night and began playing. The music filling the room had been a welcome reprieve from the silence and the screams and the whispers… But after four days of hearing the same tune over and over again, it was beginning to get on their nerves.

No one seemed to notice that the night Perceptor began playing the violin was also the night Jazz began drinking.

************(Present day: The Ark)************

"Prowl?" Jazz asked softly.

It hurt the Datsun to watch his friend act like this, but he couldn't help but feel his hope rise a little. This was the first time that Jazz talked to him and it had been two days since that incident with Red Alert and the doll named Sunstreaker.

"What is it, Jazz?"

"Could we get a radio?"

"Of course," Prowl said, a small smile on his lip components. If Jazz wanted to hear music again, it must mean he was healing, right?

"It was an oversight of my part to not leave one here sooner when I know how much you love music."

Jazz shivered and Prowl took a step forward with a frown.

"I don't like music no more. It's always that damned violin," the Porsche said after a breem of silence, "I can't stand it. Better when there's no sound. They can't hear you. I just need it to make sure we are safe."

Prowl cocked his head to one side and Jazz let out a small bitter smile at the gesture.

"It's the static. We know they're coming because there's static."

************(Silent Hill)************

Two months since Sunstreaker died. Two months since Sideswipe's descent into madness began. Jazz had feared he would have to kill the surviving twin before he became a threat to them, but Sideswipe had one day returned from scavenging with Cliffjumper carrying a doll and talking to it as if it was Sunstreaker.

Cliffjumper had pleaded Jazz to let the twin be. Guilt had made the redhead become obsessed with the now insane man. The smaller man doting on Sideswipe and catering to his every childish whim. It had made Cliffjumper become the best scavenger of the group. He had to be with the amount of gifts and toys he brought Sideswipe to keep him entertained. Luckily for them, despite Sideswipe's insanity, the remaining twin was still as deadly as before. Jazz suspected there was a part of him aware of his growing dependency on Cliffjumper because he now protected the smaller man with ferocity.

Alcohol swiftly rose on the list of necessities. Jazz was too busy trying to keep the team together and drinking had become his favorite escape. It dulled the pain and helped him ignore Perceptor's music. His nightly drinks helped him forget the images of Bluestreak's and Sunstreaker's deaths. It kept his nightmares away and that was all that mattered to the saboteur.

By now Perceptor seldom left the bar, content on waiting for them to return and patch them up. Passing the time with that violin of his. Hound's attitude was getting more and more aggressive. Going as far as trying to track down the pyramid headed man in order to kill him to avenge Sunstreaker and show the town who was the strongest. Because only the strong survived and he refused to die like Sunstreaker.

And in the end it was Beachcomber who surprised them all.

"We're not supposed to be here," he said one day to no one in particular, "She doesn't wants us here"

"The girl?" Perceptor asked and Beachcomber nodded.

"Alessa," he whispered, almost as if the name was forbidden, "I dream of her. A child of flames and nightmares. She suffered so much that she got trapped in the nightmare too."

"What are you talking about?" Hound asked, a scowl on his face.

"She gives us dreams to know more of us. She's just curious," Beachcomber continued saying, completely oblivious to Hound's words, "But she can't end her nightmare for us, so we are bound to suffer along with the ones that deserve the punishment."

Beachcomber blinked and shook his head, "Maybe if I find her I can convince her to end the nightmare for us. Just for us."

He had stood then. Blue hair now long and held back in a ponytail. Once white clothes now stained with the ashes that covered everything else and their own blood. Without a word, he just ran outside into the fog… While the Other side of Silent Hill was active.

During the time they lived there, they sometimes woke up to Beachcomber's screams. They dreamed of his death. They sometimes thought they saw him walking around the town only to find nothing but strange words and puzzles that seemed addressed to Perceptor. But Perceptor was unable to answer the puzzles...

All he ever did was take a seat by the window and wait for Beachcomber to return. Always playing the music Beachcomber had said Alessa sent to him. And not a word passing through his lips since watching the geologist get swallowed by the fog and darkness.

************(Present day: the Ark)************

There was another meeting. This time Optimus was expecting better news. The mechs had ceased to be violent unless provoked or startled. Even Hound. Prowl had even taken Jazz around the base a couple of times. The now silent Porsche always with a radio and a flashlight in hand, but Optimus thought that was slightly better than Sideswipe and his doll.

"I am proud to report that all of them, except Hound, were able to enter the medbay and let me and First Aid treat them."

"That's good to hear!" Ironhide exclaimed, "I don't want to have to tie'em up any time soon, doc."

"But," Ratchet continued ominously, "there is no sign of healing on their CPUs. The damage appears to be permanent. The closest thing that I've seen would be a glitch."

"So they can't be cured?" Bumblebee asked after the silence stretched far too long for his liking.

"I'm afraid not," Ratchet said, "There were theories on how something like that could happen, but I never knew of a real occurrence."

"Theories?" Prowl asked, beating Prime on the question.

"It is basic knowledge that glitches occurring after creation come from physical injuries. The majority of the glitches happen due to errors made during building. The rest come from injuries that never quite healed properly," Ratchet began his explanation, "The theory behind it says that it doesn't matter the type of injury, if it is a big injury it has bigger odds of making a glitch appear. It means that the injury doesn't have to be physical. It can be, for lack of a better word, in the mech's psyche."

"But that's impossible," Wheeljack replied, gaining the attention of everyone in the conference room, "For that to happen, the glitch should be on the mech's primary programming. It would surface early after being sparked. "

"Not really. There was a theory said that a processing trauma has the capacity to create a glitch while masquerading as something else. Like a ghost file, corrupt data…"

"CPU damage," Red Alert finished.

"What do you suggest Ratchet?"

The medic's optics dimmed as he analyzed all the data he had gathered while tending to the mechs in question.

"They have confirmed the deaths of Sunstreaker, Beachcomber and Bluestreak. Sideswipe's survival is a miracle. As a twin, he was meant to die with Sunstreaker. Why that didn't happen? I have no idea. But it explains why he went insane."

"Really?" Ironhide asked and both Red Alert and Ratchet nodded.

"Wherever they went, it changed them enough to prevent one from dying. Whatever that was, it may be connected to the mysterious glitch they all came with. But even when the change prevented death, Sideswipe's spark is still calling to Sunstreaker. He literally needs him to survive. But since he didn't die with his brother, Sideswipe managed to convince himself that Sunstreaker was alive. The doll really is Susntreaker to him.

"And Perceptor?"

There was silence around the room again.

Prowl sighed tiredly, "Jazz told me he believes Perceptor is still waiting for Beachcomber."

"Jazz has been sent to the medbay four times for over energizing," Red Alert spoke, "Cliffjumper admitted that wasn't surprising. In fact, he made it seem like it was a common occurrence. In fact he admitted being more surprised at Hound's sudden lack of violence."

"Ratchet…" Optimus began and the medic turned his blue optics on him.

"Mirage is good for him," the medic sighed before continuing, "Let's wait and see what the future brings. They can't fight anymore. Primus knows they are not fit to work in any army, but… We saved them. We got them back from whatever pit they were sent to. Let them enjoy it."

And in his new room, which had a nice little window for him to look out at the world, Perceptor sat. A new violin in his hands. With care, he put the instrument in position and let the music flow. There was a sudden chill and Perceptor smiled.

* * *

_Edited: 6/17/09 - Fixed dialogues._


End file.
